IRS Announces 2012 Mileage Rates

HBK announces new HR on Demand - flexible HR solutions for small and mid-sized businesses. Click here for details.

Back by popular demand! Sign up today for Essential QuickBooks Training on November 3rd in Daphne.

Business valuations are not just good management practice - they can also save your business money. Click here for more insight.

HBK announces new HR Consulting Services. Click here to read full announcement.

Baldwin businesses facing increased chance of use tax audits. Click here to read the full alert, including examples of taxable purchases.

If you use QuickBooks for your business, this is one seminar you need to attend! Click here for more information.

Melissa Thomas offers 5 Simple Tax Tips to help you prepare for April 17, 2012.

Katye Coats describes how the ASCPA's Accounting Interview Day helped her get started in her career. Click here for her story.

HBK publishes tax tips for real estate agents.

Rachel Godwin, Gia Long, Tiffany Deroy, Will Rice and Katye Coats earn 2011 promotions. Click here for announcement.

Dallas Jordan and William Cink selected for HBK Spring internships. Click here for announcement.

New 1099 Regulations Affect Businesses, Landlords. Click here for summary of new guidelines.

Josh Jensen and Katye Coats earned their CPA certifications. Josh and Katye are valuable members of the HB&K team and we are proud to recognize their achievement. Click here to read the announcement.

What will the 2010 Tax Relief Act mean to you? Click here to read the executive summary.

Effective January 1, 2011, the Social Security tax withheld for employees has been reduced from 6.2% to 4.2%. Click here for more information.

IRS Releases New Mileage Rates for 2011. Click here for more info.

Claims for emergency advance payments for income lost due to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill are due by November 23rd. Click here for more information.

HBK has welcomed Chris Knight as a Staff Accountant. Chris is a resident of Fairhope and graduated from Huntingdon College. Click here for the full press release.

The IRS is warning taxpayers about a new phishing email scam. Don't get taken in by scammers - click here for HBK's e-alert.

Melissa Thomas, HBK's Director of Tax Services, is featured in an article about tax incentives for green building practices in this month's Business Alabama. Click here for more info.

A recent act by Congress makes it possible for taxpayers to convert their traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs regardless of Adjusted Gross Income (“AGI”) or filing status in 2010 only. If you currently own traditional IRAs, please read HBK's Executive Summary to understand both the benefits and the drawbacks of this opportunity so you can determine whether a conversion makes sense for you.

Starting August 23rd, any claims for emergency advance payments related to the oil spill disaster will be handled by the new Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF) administered by Kenneth Feinberg. Click here to read HBK's summary of the GCCF Claims Process.

On April 22nd, Governor Riley signed into law the Alabama Reemployment Act of 2010 (Act 2010-557) which allows an employer to take a one-time state income tax deduction of up to 50% of the gross wages paid to a new employee who was either receiving unemployment benefits or whose unemployment benefits had been exhausted. Click here to read the full summary, including the amount and limitations of the deductions.

Every year US businesses lose billions of dollars to fraud.  The immediate impact is often devastating, but workplace fraud can continue to damage a company long after the incident is discovered. Indirect costs such as lost profits, interrupted cash flow, unforeseen expenses for consultants and/or equipment to prevent future theft and potential loss of customer confidence can add up to far more than the initial theft. HBK has developed 10 simple steps every business should take to help deter fraud in their workplace. Click here to read and download the full article.

HBK recently sponsored a presentation given to the professional community by Tanner Guin, LLC. Entitled “Healthcare, Recent Tax Laws and Estate Planning When There’s No Estate Tax (Or Not),” the presentation covered a range of current issues, including the HIRE Act, the future of the Estate Tax and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Click here to read the rest of our summary.

Today's HBKnowledge E-Alert includes tips on accounting for reimbursement received from BP as well as suggestions for ensuring that your important software programs are compatible to avoid loss of data. Click here for full text.

HBK has designed a new calculator to help businesses estimate the amount of their Health Care Tax Credits. Click here to download the Excel spreadsheet. This link can also be accessed from our Executive Summaries page.

The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill may have a significant impact on local businesses for months or years to
come. Many of our clients have questions about how to pursue claims with BP for loss of income resulting
from the disaster. Click here for a summary of the claims process to assist you in seeking compensation for
your business. For more information, please contact your HBK advisor.

Click here for printable PDF.

Hartmann, Blackmon & Kilgore Announces New Summer Intern

Hartmann, Blackmon & Kilgore PC, one of the Gulf Coast’s leading CPA firms, has welcomed Adam
Haywood to their practice as a summer intern. Mr. Haywood will assist the HBK team with a range of
accounting projects, including bookkeeping, audit and tax work.

Mr. Haywood is pursuing a Bachelor’s of Business Administration in Accounting at Millsaps College
in Jackson, MS. He maintains a 3.52 GPA in his major and is on track to graduate in May 2011. In
addition to his work as an HBK intern, Mr. Haywood serves as Vice President for both the Kappa
Alpha Order and Beta Alpha Psi, an honorary organization that promotes scholastic and professional
excellence in the accounting field. Through these leadership roles, he participates in a number of
community organizations including Habitat for Humanity and the Boys & Girls Club.

For more information please contact J. Earl Blackmon, CPA at 251-928-2443.

Click here to be redirected to the printable PDF.

Understanding New Tax Credits
May 11, 2010

Prepared by: Melissa Thomas, CPA; Director of Tax Services

(c) Hartmann, Blackmon & Kilgore, PC 2010

Small Business Health Care Tax Credit
In order to qualify for the health care tax credit, a business must have 25 or fewer full-time employee
equivalents, with average wages of no more than $50,000. The employer must cover at least half the
cost of health care insurance premiums for the employees based on the single rate. The IRS has created
a guide titled “3 SIMPLE STEPS” to help businesses calculate the full-time employee equivalents and the
average annual wages. This form is available for download on HBK’s website.
The credit is available to both for-profit businesses and not-for-profit entities. For tax years 2010 to
2013, the maximum credit is 35% (25% for not-for-profit entities) of the employer’s portion of premium
costs. The maximum credit is available for employers with 10 or fewer employees and average annual
wages of less than $25,000 and is reduced as the employees increase to 25 and average wages to
$50,000. As with any tax credit, there are additional rules and limits. Please contact your HB&K
accountant for more information.

Payroll Tax Exemption
The payroll tax exemption applies to all qualified employers, not just small businesses. A qualified
employer is any employer other than the government. This act exempts employers from their share of
the 6.2% social security tax on wages paid from March 19, 2010 through December 31, 2010 on qualified
employees. Qualified employees are those hired between February 3, 2010 and December 31, 2010
who have been unemployed or employed for less than 40 hours during the 60 days prior to
employment. These employees cannot be relatives of the employer. The employee will need to certify
by affidavit they have been unemployed or employed for less than 40 hours during the continuous 60
day period prior to employment. Form W-11 can be used to certify the employees. This exemption does
not apply to household employees, or employees terminated without cause, in order to replace them
with workers who qualify for the exemption. IRS Form W-11 is available for download on our website.

Retention Credit
In addition, for each qualified employee retained for 52 consecutive weeks, the employer will be eligible
for another credit. This credit is 6.2% of wages paid to the qualified employee over the 52 week period,
up to a maximum credit of $1,000 per employee.

Today is America’s Tax Freedom Day. Read more about how this impacts you on the Tax Foundation website.

This year’s Tax Freedom day falls on April 9th. Click here for full story (from Tax Foundation website)

Hartmann, Blackmon & Kilgore Promotes Melissa Thomas to Principal, Tax Director
Hartmann, Blackmon & Kilgore P.C., one of the Gulf Coast's leading CPA and business
consulting firms, announced today that Melissa Thomas, CPA has been promoted to Principal and will
serve as HBK's Director of Tax Services.
Ms. Thomas will oversee the firm's tax planning and preparation services, which together
represent a significant portion of HBK's practice. Additionally, she will be responsible for monitoring
changes to the tax code and educating the firm's clients and employees about key issues.
Xavier Hartmann, CEO of HBK, explains: “Tax rules have never been more complex, and I
trust Melissa to guide our clients through the maze of regulations. She is incredibly thorough in her
research and is able to create well-informed solutions for even the most complicated situations.”
“Last week a client sent Melissa flowers with a note saying 'When you're right, you're right,'”
adds Earl Blackmon, President. “That says a lot about her: not only is she knowledgeable about tax
issues but she really takes the time to get to know our clients and understand their particular needs.”
Ms. Thomas joined HBK in 2005, following almost nine years in public accounting with
PricewaterhouseCoopers in Birmingham, AL. Her areas of specialization include strategic tax planning
for flow-through entities, litigation support services and tax compliance for non-profit organizations.
A graduate of the University of Alabama with a Master of Tax Accounting, she is a member of
the Alabama Society of CPAs and the American Institute of CPAs. Ms. Thomas, her husband Robert
and their three children are residents of Fairhope, AL.

Hartmann, Blackmon & Kilgore, P.C. Announces 2010 Staff Promotions

Hartmann, Blackmon & Kilgore P.C., one of the Gulf Coast's leading CPA firms, has announced

several staff promotions.

Rian Turner, CPA has been promoted to Senior Manager of Audit and Litigation Services.

Mr. Turner has been practicing public accounting since 2001 and focuses on such areas as forensic

accounting, damages calculations and fraud investigation. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting

from Huntingdon College and a Masters in Accounting from University of South Alabama. He is a

member of the American Institute of CPAs and the Alabama Society of CPAs and lives in Daphne with

his wife and son.

Johnny Barranco, CPA has been promoted to Manager of Tax and Audit Services. Mr.

Barranco holds a Masters of Accounting degree from Auburn University and is a member of the

Auburn University Montgomery School of Business Advisory Board, the American Institute of CPAs

and the Alabama Society of CPAs. He has been practicing public accounting for seven years and

concentrates on real estate and construction matters. Mr. Barranco lives in Fairhope with his wife and

their three children.

Rachel Godwin, CPA has been promoted to Supervisor of Tax and Audit Services. Ms. Godwin

has been practicing public accounting for eight years, focusing on audits for governments,

municipalities and non-profit organizations as well as accounting and tax services for small businesses

and individuals. She earned a Masters of Accounting degree from the University of West Florida and is

a member of the American Institute of CPAs, the Alabama Society of CPAs and the Florida Institute of

CPAs. Ms. Godwin resides in Jay, Florida, and maintains dual licensing in Alabama and Florida.

Katye Coats has been promoted to Staff II Accountant. Mrs. Coats graduated Summa Cum

Laude from the University of North Alabama with a Bachelor's of Business Administration, and holds a

Masters of Accounting from the University of South Alabama. She began her career with HBK in 2008,

and is a member of Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society, the American Institute of CPAs, the

Alabama Society of CPAs and the Mobile Chapter of Young CPAs. Mrs. Coats and her husband live in

Fairhope and are active members of the Church on the Eastern Shore.

LeeAnn McKenzie has been promoted to Staff II Accountant. Ms. McKenzie holds a Bachelor

of Science degree in Accounting from Troy University and joined HBK as a staff accountant in 2008.

She is an alumna of Chi Omega Sorority, the world's largest fraternal organization for women, and a

member of the American Institute of CPAs, the Alabama Society of CPAs and the Mobile Chapter of

Young CPAs. Ms. McKenzie lives in Daphne and is an active member of the Church on the Eastern

Shore.

“We are pleased to recognize the accomplishments of these team members,” says Earl Blackmon,

president of HBK. “We truly believe we offer our clients the very best service in the industry, and we

owe much of our success to the hard work and dedication of our staff.” Hartmann, Blackmon &

Kilgore's practice includes 7 principals and 43 staff members, including 18 CPAs.